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Akakor
Akakor is the name of a supposed ancient underground city, located somewhere between Brazil, Bolivia and Peru, revealed as the product of a hoax. It was described by German journalist Karl Brugger, based on interviews with a self-proclaimed Brazilian Indian chieftain Tatunca Nara in his book The Chronicle of Akakor (1976). Although Brugger was apparently convinced, the information in it has only one source (Tatunca Nara), who was later exposed by activist and adventurer Rüdiger Nehberg as being Günther Hauck, a German. Elements of the story from The Chronicle of Akakor were used in the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, where they were conflated with El Dorado, although references are to "Akator".Film Preview (Pt. I): Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull References *Karl Brugger: Die Chronik von Akakor, Econ Publishers: Düsseldorf, Vienna, 1976 External links *The legend of Akakor *Article about underground secrets of South America Then began Act Two for real. It was the timeframe when the story of Juan Moricz, the man who had taken von Däniken to see subterranean tunnels in Ecuador, and Tatunca merged: Tatunca stated that he knew Moricz, when he was staying in Venezuela in 1967. So two separate stories of underground tunnels were now possibly linked. When Stan Hall – who knew Moricz well – was asked to comment, he noted that Moricz did spend time in Venezuela, a fact that is not often reported or known. As Moricz was also quite a high-profile visitor to the country (he befriended the president), that Tatunca met Moricz is therefore not an impossibility. But whether it is significant, is an entirely different matter. The legend of Akakor unexpectedly received an entirely new dimension when Karl Brugger was murdered leaving a restaurant in Rio de Janeiro on January 1, 1984. Though a life does not cost much in Brazil and armed robbery is even more violent there than in the rest of Southern America, some have queried whether his murder had anything to do with his book and/or knowledge of Akakor. So far, no-one has been able to show a link. At the time, Tatunca Nara was apparently questioned, but was able to provide an alibi for his whereabouts. Then came Act Three – which is an act that few people have seen or known about. Since the 1970s, the Amazon has become much more open to the world and parts where Brugger had great difficulty in getting to, are now less so. Akakor, however, remains undiscovered. At the same time, the question needs to be posed whether Tatunca merely drove Brugger into the jungle, knowing that they would at some point hit an obstacle, which would necessitate their return home… After Brugger, Tatunca Nara took several others into the jungle, apparently all enthralled by the legend of Akakor, and trying to be the discoverer – or at least co-discoverer – of this mythical city. In 1980, Tatunca left with the American John Reed on such an expedition, but only Tatunca Nara returned; what happened to John Reed is unknown, but it is assumed he died in the rain forest. In 1983, Tatunca left with the Swiss explorer Herbert Wanner, and he didn’t return either. A few years later, a group of tourists came across a human skull, which was later identified as Wanner’s. In 1987, the Swedish Christine Heuser also left with Nara on an expedition, and disappeared as well. Tatunca Nara later denied he travelled with any of these into the jungle, but the site where Wanner’s skull was found, left no doubt whatsoever that he had left on an expedition – Nara being the only logical guide that accompanied him. Rumours of Tatunca’s own death circulated on a number of occasions, but it is known that he is still alive and lives in Barcelos, along the Rio Negro. In 2003, he had himself declared as mentally instable, but he nevertheless continues to offer his services as a tour guide for any willing parties. "Tatunca" What is less known – the Final Act – is that – alas – the story of Akakor turned out to be a fraud. The story was unravelled when Tatunca Nara was exposed as being in truth one Günther Hauck, a German ex-pat. The discovery was made by the German adventurer Rüdiger Nehberg and film director Wolfgang Brög. Brög tricked Tatunca to take him onto an expedition, during which his story began to unravel. It then became clear that Tatunca had left Germany in 1967, which explained why he spoke perfect German, yet broken Portuguese. Apparently, he left Germany as he was trying to escape imprisonment due to unpaid alimony after a divorce in 1966. Since, his ex-wife has confirmed that Hauck is indeed the “Tatunca Nara” on Brugger’s photos and there are also pre-1968 German court proceedings that mention Hauck preferred to go by a nickname Tatunge Nare. That, alas, is the unfortunate story of the legend of Akakor, which killed at least three people and which was, in origin, the story of a man who was able to con the world. It is a story of our human nature and our desire for adventure and a larger than life reality. It is, however, mostly a story of how we can be blinded by appeal, despite all the evidence or logic against. No-one doubts that there are still undiscovered settlements and tribes in the Amazon and since the 1970s, when this story started, several have been discovered. But tunnels or stone cities in the heartland of the Amazon are unlikely for anyone who has been in the rainforest. To find a written chronicle here is unlikely, but not impossible. But an Amazonian chronicle that would “prove” dates of 10,481 BC – a very Western, Cayce-ite date – should ring clear alarm bells in the minds of most, if not all. Finally, for the men who knew and met Tatunca Nara, the fact that he spoke better German than Portuguese, and the local knowledge that Tatunca was the only gringo who tried to get himself passed off as an Indian, should have made all of them extremely wary. But the appeal of his story was such that it sent men on a quest for Akakor, which very much became to them their private Grail Quest. Alas, for some, the fact that they did not ask the proper question about Tatunca before setting off, didn’t result in them waking up in an empty castle in the morning, but that they never woke up ever again… |} Category:Ancient astronaut theory Category:Pseudohistory Category:Fictional lost cities and towns Category:Atlantis it:Akakor simple:Akakor pt:Akakor sk:Akakor